Distinct Differences
by DragonFly8246
Summary: KagSess - Kagome is jilted by past experiences, but SesshouMaru strongly belives tis the season for anything to happen.
1. Chapter 1

Distinct Differences  
By DragonFly8246  
  
The day to day bustle and hustle always seemed more congested during the holiday seasons. From October 31st to mid-November one could feel rising tension in the atmosphere, but the first hour of the last weekend in November really signaled the end of all that, and the beginning of an all out rush to the finish line: December 25th.  
  
What started as a mostly local celebration had become an all out global phenomenon by the end of the 20th century. People in lands that didn't even know who Jesus was took time on Christmas to celebrate his birth. It had turned out most interesting and, for anyone ever caught in the holiday rush, extremely annoying.  
  
Even more upsetting was that she had to spend the time alone. Yes, she, Kagome Higurashi, hadn't spent the glorious 25th of December in the presence of another being, human or otherwise, in close to three years. Her last holiday companion, a playboy by the name of Takaski InuYasha, had been an apparently faithful and wonderful hanyou, her best friend and near lover, up until three years past.  
  
That was when she came home early from a business trip to find him and her own cousin doing things that went beyond 'friendly' in many different ways. She'd kicked him out the door with her cousin close behind. Within the week Kagome had manage to sever herself completely from InuYasha with the one exception that his half-brother was her distant boss. But even that had changed.  
  
Taking one final inventory of her desk, Kagome nodded to some of her co- workers that passed by on their way to the party being held in the largest conference room, two floors up. Considering Takaski SesshouMaru owned the entire building, and employed everyone in it, it was a considerably large conference room.  
  
More like a movie theater, Kagome thought to herself, since she had seen the room recently and knew of the full screen projection system that was its newest main feature.  
  
Three years ago, though, she would have only heard about the addition from InuYasha. As the second son's tentative girlfriend she rarely had left the floor she used to be stationed on, four down from her current position in the executive suites. InuYasha had brought her up to tour the gym on the top floor only once and to enjoy a brief lunch in the VIP Cafeteria that occupied the entire floor directly above. She took a second to reflect, as she did ever holiday season, on how amazed she used to be; how naïve.  
  
Behind her, Kagome's boss stepped out of his office, leaving the door wide open as though without a care in the world.  
  
"Going to work through this year's party again, Kagome-chan?" Mirosaki Miroku, head of the Takaski Legal Detachment, leaned heavily on the back of Kagome's chair, causing it to tip in his direction.  
  
Kagome gave him her 'I'm not interested' look, which lasted maybe 30 seconds against his infectious smile, then grinned. "Nah, I thought this year I might actually go home and hang with Hojo instead."  
  
His look of mock-horror said it all. "Absolutely not! Kagome, you need to get out of the self-imposed slump. It's not healthy to spend so much time by yourself." Not to mention it's starting to make working with SesshouMaru almost impossible, he thought.  
  
Miroku wasn't blind and even if he was, as justice was wont to be, he certainly wasn't stupid. Four years past, when his boss had first met the wonderful, beautiful, and oh so scrumptious Kagome, he'd immediately disliked her.  
  
Now, that in and of itself was nothing monumental except for the fact that the only other female SesshouMaru felt anything beyond indifference for was his adopted daughter Rin. In Miroku's mind, dislike indicated interest, and being that the object of his boss's interest at the time was with a certain hanyou, the lawyer deduced that the dislike SesshouMaru held for Kagome was actually jealousy towards InuYasha. In disguise, of course.  
  
A year later when Kagome was 'without hanyou', as the gossip pool liked to put it, Miroku noticed an almost immediate change in his employer's attitude. That Kagome had been promoted by said employer, not a month after her split with InuYasha, to a position that put her in a more accessible place to SesshouMaru, was no surprise to Miroku. If there was one thing that held true about the youkai founding fathers of Takaski Enterprises, they knew what they wanted and always found a way to get it.  
  
Kagome huffed and sat forward, effectively pulling Miroku's perch out from under him. "I'm not alone, didn't I just say I'd be with Hojo."  
  
"You're gay neighbor needs to get a boyfriend and let you do the same," Miroku mumbled. Kagome heard him loud and clear anyway and playfully popped him one in the shoulder.  
  
"Maybe you're right. I just don't feel all that festive right now though."  
  
She was going to cave. "Well, a little champagne, a few cream puffs, and maybe some of the wonderful crackers with the lobster stuff on them will cure that. Did I mention the champagne," Miroku raised an eye-brow at her indignant look before slipping an arm around her waist when she rose.  
  
She looked skeptical for a moment then shrugged. "Sure, though, I'm not really dressed for it."  
  
Giving her the once over, Miroku's face near split in two. "You look fine," he reassured her, silently continuing, he'll be thrilled to see you regardless of how you're dressed.  
  
With one final glance at the neat desktop, Kagome gathered up her coat and purse, allowing Miroku to escort her up to the party, still secretly unsure if it was a good idea. 


	2. Chapter 2

Distinct Difference: Chapter 2  
By DragonFly8246  
  
The elevator ride up to the party was uneventful, even though only recently Kagome had still been having issues with her boss's wandering hands. Since meeting and starting a strange courtship dance with the Executive Assistant, Sango Hoshi, Miroku had curbed his habits of groping all the women he knew or met. Now he just grabbed and bothered Sango, but she tolerated it and when in private with Kagome, admitted to enjoying the attention.  
  
Once the doors had opened, she'd nearly been pushed back by the sight, sounds, and smells. First off, the place was packed. It was not often that people from the lower floors had any opportunity to see the executive floors and conference suites. Being in this room was likely a once in a life-time occurrence for most of the party attendees.  
  
Humans, youkai, and the occasional hanyou chatted, laughed, and all around enjoyed the company and atmosphere. On the overhead projector a roaming cameraman was taking footage of the event. Kagome stopped briefly to hand over her coat and purse to the entry attendants, her attention on the screen.  
  
InuYasha and Kikyou, Kagome's near identical cousin, were dancing on the screen and being mildly heckled by those around them. When they turned away from the lens, light overhead caught on the magnificent diamond on Kikyou's hand. Someone in the tech room must have considered the ring, and its representative engagement, highly important because the movement on the screen froze, the digital enhancement zooming in on the ring itself.  
  
There was cheering near one side of the room, and Kagome could only assume it was those nearby giving their congratulations. A hand on her shoulder brought her attention back.  
  
Miroku smiled into her dampened eyes. "Here," he said, shoving a small plate of appetizers and a fluted glass of sparkling drink into her hands, "best time of year to resolve old headaches, no?"  
  
She sighed and gave a slight nod. "It's been three years. You'd think I would be over him by now," she said while he led her to the opposite side of the room.  
  
Miroku heard her and gave her arm a slight squeeze. He knew what it was like to lose your heart to another, knew the risk and feelings of inadequacy whenever one opened up to that certain person, he was living with such emotions right now.  
  
As they approached their destination, faces in the crowd became more familiar and greetings more frequent. Kagome nodded and smiled and replied as was appropriate, but inside she just wanted to go home. What would I be doing right now, she wondered and an image of Hojo came to the front of her mind.  
  
Her neighbor of differing sexual preference had become the closet friend she had in years. Hojo was there when she'd been hired by Takaski Enterprises, had celebrated her joy at meeting InuYasha and let her cry on his shoulder the night it ended, and most importantly, he never judged her.  
  
Kagome felt her co-workers' eyes on her almost everyday. She knew that her relationship with InuYasha, though distant history by traditional office gossip standards, was still discussed and debated on a regular basis. Even now, she though, not five minutes since I stepped off the elevator and I can hear the whispers.  
  
The side talk was less and less about her as Miroku led her deeper into the room. By the time they reached a cluster of small tables with chairs, Kagome was no longer the primary topic of conversation. It had shifted to InuYasha and Kikyou.  
  
"Hey you two!" Sango came bounding through the crowd to her friend and possible romantic interest. She smiled with pleasure at seeing them and more so at the way Miroku immediately dropped his hold on Kagome's arm. Not that she minded, Kagome had no interest in Miroku and vise versa, but it still felt good to see him acting like a suitor towards her and her alone.  
  
"I see you've already found the bar," she said in a slightly sarcastic tone, raising her brows at Kagome's full glass and Miroku's whiskey on the rocks.  
  
"Well, when it's free.," Miroku purposely left the sentence dangling. They moved close to share a more intimate greeting and Kagome turned away.  
  
Close to them was a table, unoccupied at the moment, so she set her food and drink down, turning to the nearby balcony doors. Music was playing in the background, the food was starting to become too amorous, and the noise was intolerably high. Maybe a minute outside, she thought, just to clear my senses.  
  
Noticing Sango and Miroku busy with one another, she turned into the crowd, easily becoming shielded from the only two people who might actively seek her conversation. At the full glass doors, she noticed large space heaters had been placed periodically along the rail outside. Being thankful she wouldn't freeze, Kagome lifted the latch and slipped outside.  
  
The cold blast of air was accentuated by the balcony being at the top of the building. Though only fourteen stories high, the building was one of the tallest in the business park where it was situated. Off in the distance, Tokyo central was lit up with lights, reflecting prettily off the relatively calm waters of the near by bay. It was a totally calming scene.  
  
Kagome wrapped her arms around her body and went to stand under one of the heaters, not too close because it was turned on full blast, but close enough to be comfortably warmed. She never noticed the other figure standing behind her near the building wall, wrapped in a coat and shadowed by darkness. 


	3. Chapter 3

Distinct Difference: Chapter 3  
By DragonFly  
  
She'd still been at her desk, diligently working away when he'd left to make an appearance at the party. That's all it would be, a show of face to let his employees know he cared. Horse shit, he thought, wanting more than anything to get back to the quiet confines of his office and work.  
  
Plus there was Kagome to consider.  
  
He hoped she wouldn't come upstairs, not saying that he wouldn't like to see her, it was just that his imbecile of a half-brother had gone off and proposed to that woman, Kikyou, and though he hated to admit it, he didn't want Kagome to know quite yet. He, SesshouMaru Takaski, wanted to have her heart safely secured alongside his own before the two children had announced their engagement, if only to help her through the pain he knew the action would cause.  
  
But fate was against him. Not only had he been unable to leave the party, Kagome had decided to join it. There was no way he would have found her inside the room, it was too full and she was not as tall as most of the people that worked for him, but on the balcony her figure was distinctive and easily recognized.  
  
She was still watching the Tokyo nightline, obviously thinking, but seemingly in control of her emotions. Maybe she hasn't heard, he considered then straightened when he saw her shiver.  
  
Kagome rubbed her hands up and down her arms which had suddenly peppered into goose flesh. It was not the biting cold of the night air that was causing her to shiver, rather the unshakable feeling she was being watched.  
  
No one else appeared to be on the balcony with her, which is why her heart leapt into her throat when he spoke. "You should not be out here without a coat. It is far too cold."  
  
Kagome spun on her heel to face him, leaning back against the stone and steel rail that surrounded the balcony. SesshouMaru noticed she recognized him immediately even covered in shadow and darkness as he was. His heart gave a flip as her stunning beauty, though he kept a straight, emotionless face.  
  
"Yes, well.," Kagome looked away, hugging herself once more. "I didn't want to go back to the coat check and there are heaters here," she shrugged but stiffened slightly as he approached.  
  
SesshouMaru understood and agreed completely. He had made a direct line for the balcony once he stepped from the personal elevator that connected his office to the conference room. The outside doors were actually discreetly close to where his elevator opened into the room.  
  
He came to stand directly before her and began unbuttoning his coat. Her shivering was becoming more noticeable, though he had no way of knowing he was the cause.  
  
Kagome nearly jumped when her boss's boss, the head and majority owner of the company, a youkai lord by birth, flung his winter coat around her shoulders and pulled her close by the lapels. Her head barely came up to his chin, but when she looked up to see just what exactly was going on, she found herself nearly lip-to-lip with one of the sexiest and most powerful beings on the island.  
  
The intoxicating smell, warm feel, and elevated breathing of this amazing woman sent SesshouMaru into overdrive. Dipping his head ever so slightly, SesshouMaru touched her lips with his own, his hands grasping the coat tighter to prevent her withdrawal.  
  
Shocked, Kagome hesitated at first contact then settled into him when SesshouMaru did not push. His scent, sandalwood and cedar with just a touch of something spicy, surrounded her, from him and the coat she wore. Without her arms in the sleeves all she could do was lean closer and tip her head more to show her enjoyment.  
  
With a sexy little sigh and her body snuggled right up to SesshouMaru, Kagome's eyes slid shut and she allowed him to take the kiss wherever he might deem appropriate. When she surrendered to him, SesshouMaru demanded a little more from this human woman he had come to love from afar. He hoped it was her decision and not the influence of any alcohol she might have had, when he opened his own mouth and began enticing her to do the same. Kagome gave a small gasp, engaging SesshouMaru when he tasted her for the first time, returning the contact with tastes of her own.  
  
Behind them the party was still in full swing. Neither noticed the cheers being made by the crowd as the entire room's audience was held captivated and overly pleased by what they were watching on the screen.  
  
From the side of the room where he had been dancing with his fiancée, InuYasha starred a look of complete blank-minded shock on his face. His brother was kissing his former girlfriend, and truth be told a woman he still harbored affections for, on the huge projector screen, in plain view of everyone employed by Takaski Enterprises.  
  
When SesshouMaru pulled Kagome flush against himself with one arm while tilting her head for an even deeper, obvious French style, kiss, InuYasha was sure the roof might just be blown off. His own emotions, temporarily bowled over by what he was seeing, kicked into full rage.  
  
"That bastard," he growled, suddenly searching for the wandering cameraman he and Kikyou had finally managed to shake. It was obvious they were out on the balcony, under one of the heating lamps, but where? There were at least five doors, most of which were on the opposite side of the room to his current position, from which the footage could be shot.  
  
Seeing the camera light from the corner of his eye, InuYasha began across the room. He was brought up short by a hand on his wrist.  
  
"What!?" He swung around, exasperated and fuming, to face Kikyou, her features set to extreme anger, though not at the show her cousin was putting on.  
  
"You're not going over there, InuYasha." Her tone and expression left no room for conversation or compromise on the subject.  
  
Stepping close, InuYasha towered over her. The entire reason he'd left Kagome for this woman was her ability to trap him into things. Three years ago she'd impersonated her cousin and gotten him to sleep with her. He'd known the instant he entered her it was Kikyou not Kagome, because the latter had been a virgin then and to his knowledge, still was. Kikyou'd used him to hurt her cousin, a rivalry not unlike the one he and SesshouMaru had, though InuYasha knew what his half-brother was doing now with Kagome stemmed from long hidden feelings.  
  
When Kagome had found out about InuYasha, about the infidelity and with whom he had cheat on her with, that had been the end of them. In the three years since not a day went by, not a single time he happened to catch a glimpse of her, not a mention of her name, that InuYasha didn't regret losing Kagome. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him, hands down. And now Kikyou, having backed him into a corner to become his fiancée, was preventing him from any chance of being with the woman he truly loved.  
  
SesshouMaru would not make the same mistake, ever.  
  
Kikyou gave him a meaningful look before she turned away and headed towards the coat check and elevators. He had a second to decide, follow his heart or follow the lie he was being forced to live. 


	4. Chapter 4

Distinct Difference: Chapter 4  
By DragonFly  
  
Miroku, master conductor of an orchestra of love currently taking place on the balcony, or so he thought, hurried the cameraman away from where he could observe SesshouMaru and Kagome. The guys in the tech room were replaying the kiss over and over on the big screen, so there was no need for more footage. Already people were searching around the room for the door through which their boss and his new love interest could be seen, and Miroku knew he was in enough trouble as it was.  
  
"They'll probably have to leave the party now," Sango said at his side. At the door they watched as SesshouMaru and Kagome pulled back slightly and seemed to share unspoken communication for a moment. "Do you want to get them and I'll nab his elevator?"  
  
Miroku only nodded in affirmation. Being sure to give Sango a head start, he made a production of opening the balcony door.  
  
SesshouMaru heard the door click and whirled to face his lead legal council. At his side, Kagome ducked her head and stepped behind him slightly. He was almost too high on joy that the woman he'd coveted for four years was returning his affection, to be upset at the interruption. Almost...  
  
Granted, it may just be a deranged form of rebound-syndrome, or maybe her way of getting back at InuYasha [though he knew her not to be that kind of person], but they had a start. Interruptions were out of the question until things with them were settled.  
  
"What?" His tone of voice left no room to guess at the mood he was harboring. Though he couldn't see it, Kagome blushed to her roots when she saw her boss standing in the doorway.  
  
Miroku controlled the overwhelming urge to smile at the two and congratulate them both with hugs and back-pats. "Sir, there's an important call for Higurashi-san. I recommend you allow her to take it in your office." Kagome peeked out from behind his friend, concern leaking into her eyes.  
  
"For me?"  
  
Miroku nodded in response but his gaze never left SesshouMaru's. "Yes, a long awaited holiday blessing, if I'm not mistaken. Sango is holding your elevator now, SesshouMaru-sama." His employer and friend understood completely. The unspoken form of communication was not relegated to lovers only.  
  
Suddenly in a hurry to get to the phone, Kagome looked to SesshouMaru, said a nearly silent 'excuse me' and then headed inside. With Miroku leading the way and SesshouMaru bringing up the rear, they made it to the private elevator with no incident. Everyone seemed to have really goofy grins on their faces; it was the strangest thing SesshouMaru had ever seen.  
  
Once securely to the elevator, Kagome waited with Sango for SesshouMaru to use his key to activate the vertical movement mechanism. The code registered with a beep, hardly heard at all since the crowd began cheering and clapping all of a sudden. Miroku turned to look at the big screen, unaware that SesshouMaru followed his action, to see the previous footage of SesshouMaru and Kagome kissing with an in-box screen of InuYasha and Kikyou dancing from before.  
  
"What is it?" Kagome asked, unable to see the screen from her point of view.  
  
Tearing his gaze from the screen, SesshouMaru scanned the crowd, searching for his half-brother while replying. "Nothing, just some missal toe participants." Across the room, nearing one of the other outside doors, SesshouMaru caught a glimpse of InuYasha's distinctive silver mane. I can't risk it, he thought turning back to Kagome with as casual an expression as he could muster on his face. "I'm sure there will be plenty of people talking about it after the holidays."  
  
He crowded close to her, tipping her face with a gentle hand on her chin so they were looking at one another. "Besides," SesshouMaru smirked slightly, "we have a phone call to take."  
  
Kagome's eyes twinkled, understanding how important the 'phone call' suddenly was. "Right," she said, allowing him to walk her backwards into the elevator.  
  
As the doors began to close, his brother's voice carried faintly over the sound of the cheering and clapping. SesshouMaru would have turned to look, to see if the whelp was trying to follow them but didn't want to draw Kagome's to his brother as well. Instead he backed her in a corner of the personal elevator, and kissed her thoroughly once he guessed the doors had closed enough for marginal privacy.  
  
^\_/^ _/^\_ ^\_/^ _/^\_ ^\_/^ _/^\_ ^\_/^ _/^\_ ^\_/^ _/^\_ ^\_/^ _/^\_ ^\_/^ _/^\_ ^\_/^ _/^\_  
  
InuYasha struggled through the crowd, most of which were congratulating him on his engagement, trying desperately to reach Kagome before she got into the elevator with SesshouMaru. They had paused for a moment to watch the screen, Kagome no doubt feeling both devastation and anger over what was displayed. He was close enough now that Kagome would see if he hollered.  
  
The crowd shifted and InuYasha found himself close to the outside door. People were cheering, clapping, talking. There was little chance Kagome might hear him, even if the elevator door was still open.  
  
"KAGOME!" His voice was drowned by the sound of everyone around him. Pushing harder, InuYasha broke through close enough to see Miroku and Sango. The two were standing, his arm around her waist, looking at the closed elevator door like a masterpiece painting.  
  
"Hey," InuYasha shouted at them, stepping by to try his key on the private elevator. It beeped negative. "What the hell is going on?!?" He rounded on the two, not at all surprised to see Sango in a fury.  
  
"She's finally happy. Can't you bug off and let them be?" Her eyes flashed and InuYasha noticed Miroku's arm tighten to keep her at his side.  
  
"Feh, like he knows how to make anyone happy. The only person SesshouMaru ever keeps happy is himself," his voice tapered off when he met the lawyer's eye. Miroku's gaze burned with rage.  
  
Thinking it better to concede this battle in favor of winning the war, InuYasha moved to step past them. If he could get downstairs and into the office soon, maybe he could convince Kagome not to let his brother use her.  
  
Miroku blocked his path slightly, the two standing close enough that even close by Sango missed what was said. Later she would know what her love interest had said to the hanyou, but at that moment Sango could only gather what was exchanged by observing InuYasha's reaction. The young hanyou's face bled pale of its color, his eyes widening in alarm, tinged darker in fear.  
  
Without warning he bolted, making like a pack of rabid wolves were on his tail. InuYasha pushed people in his mad sprint to the conference room doors and towards the elevators. Chuckling slightly, Miroku grasped two champagne flutes off a passing tray, handing one to Sango.  
  
"What was that all about," she asked, genuinely interested.  
  
Sipping slowly, Miroku regarded her with a twinkle in his eyes. "You're so beautiful, you know that Sango?" She blushed wonderfully and he couldn't help the fact his body, heart, and soul desired this woman. Taking her into his arms, they spun slightly, the music finally regaining volume to be heard over the crowd. He dipped her back, inhaling the close scent of her perfume when they drew back up straight.  
  
Close and comfortable they continued to dance, people all around talking and speculating about the three apparent executive couples. 


	5. Chapter 5

Distinct Differences

Chapter 5

Kagome was pleasantly surprised when he'd crowded her back into a corner of the elevator.  The action was overly possessive, and she had to admit to a hint of fear at his looming presence, but when his head dipped and nuzzled into her neck, Kagome melted against the youkai lord. 

The strange thing was, she had never considered SesshouMaru.  He'd always just been the silent, withdrawn older brother to her boyfriend.  And once InuYasha was no longer with her, the older brother had seemed to slip even farther into the back of her mind.  What did she really know about him?

He had a daughter, and that much she knew because she and InuYasha had once babysat the adorable girl.  She remembered the child, Rin, saying that her father was not her first father, but certainly her favorite.  Kagome found it wonderful, but had been sharply rebuffed when asking questions of InuYasha.  The hanyou hadn't been the least interested in telling her about her brother.

No matter, she could probably ask all she wanted of the youkai himself, now at least that she was in a more personal and close relationship to him.  Provided of course he wasn't just after a cheap thrill.

The thought had her drawing back slightly.

SesshouMaru, having been blissfully immersed in the sound, smell, and feel of her, barely registered her withdrawal until Kagome pushed against his chest, her head ducking to limit his access.  Not sure, and certainly not about to force her, he loosened his hold, though did not move away at all.

"Everything alright," he asked in a voice lined in velvet.

Kagome's hands curled into lose fists on his chest.  She drew a breath, regaining her bearings since SesshouMaru was so much male it was easy to lose control, before tilting her head back to look at him.  

"Why are we doing this?"  Her question, double inclusive, was something she felt both of them needed to answer before going any farther.  She wasn't about to plunge in, both feet wet, to a relationship with a youkai male only interested in getting the one up on his sibling.  

SesshouMaru did step back at her question, prepared but not fully to give an answer.  To their side the control panel for the elevator beeped, signaling that another had tried to access it, and SesshouMaru didn't need to guess, he knew who wanted the lift to come back and open.  InuYasha.

His hands tightened for a moment as he looked at the panel, then without warning he slung a fist at it, striking the Emergency Stop button and smashing the panel inward in the same instant.  Kagome jumped and pushed herself farther into the corner as the elevator jerked to a halt.

He raged for a second, emotions overflowing into instincts, the need to keep the woman he now felt of as his own pulsing through his blood, SesshouMaru was brought back into his right mind by a soft touch to his cheek.  Turning back to Kagome, he took note of how she'd squeezed herself back from him, and yet was reaching out, soothing him.

She understood the anger and the way a hanyou thought.  InuYasha had always been overly gruff and possessive whenever she was around other men, and Kagome could only imagine that a full blooded youkai would experience an even stronger reaction.  She wasn't stupid; this male would not have reacted to the elevator in such a way unless he felt she was being threatened.  Knowing such didn't change the fact he still frightened her a bit, and being considered property was certainly not her thing, but Kagome knew a little of how to handle such situations.

"I apologize," he said, the sexy quality of his voice, though eternally present, seemingly held in check.  He took her hand and drew her to him, holding her lithe body with his other arm.  "I'm in love with you, Kagome, have been since the day we met, and as much as I hate it, I know InuYasha loves you still too."

The gasp that escaped her showed the extent of her shock.  SesshouMaru was sure it was for the realization she could have his half-brother back, all she had to do was find him.  He was thrown off when Kagome snuggled up to him, reaching to wrap her arms around him and draw them into a kiss.  

His arms closed around her and SesshouMaru allowed his body to relax.  "Why didn't you tell me sooner," Kagome asked, her near whispered words tickling against his neck.

"I had not meant to tell you tonight," he held her a fraction tighter, unsure how she would take his next few words.  "I'm afraid."

Kagome drew back slightly, her gaze piercing straight through him when their eyes met.  Shock was the initial reaction to his confession, if not a little joy, but for a youkai, one as powerful as SesshouMaru at that, to admit to fear was almost ridiculous.  "Say it again," she demanded, barely keeping the anger she felt, at the thought he was playing with her emotions, in check.  

The flash in her eyes was exciting.  SesshouMaru dipped his head close, moving her back deep into the corner of the elevator, his voice a near growl when he finally spoke.  "I'm afraid, Kagome.  I fear being without you while you stand right before; I fear the sight of you carrying another's child; and I fear my future without you in it, with me."

He paused the dramatic effect on her being Kagome tensed.  "I want you for my mate," SesshouMaru whispered.

************************

InuYasha raced out of the conference room and throngs of party-goers, his heart beating loudly in his ears.  If any of what Miroku had just said to him was true then SesshouMaru was going to do it.  He was going to ask Kagome to become his mate, then to marry him and share a life with him, and InuYasha was scared out of his mind because she didn't know.  He'd never told her how much she meant to him in the past and still did.  

Engagements could be broken and life itself would proceed in a normal capacity, but if he didn't get to her first, SesshouMaru was going to steal away his only chance at true happiness.

The attendants at the coat check tried to stop him for his jacket, they failed miserably, but the person at the elevators effectively halted his mad rush.

"Where do you think you're going," Kikyou asked of her fiancé, more than a little acid lacing the tone in her voice.  She was leaning purposefully against the wall above the call panel.  He'd have to deal with her before being able to reach the buttons for an elevator.

"I'm going downstairs to talk to Kagome," was his even though slightly breathy response.  

Kikyou nodded marginally before looking down at her ring, and for a second he thought she was going to step aside.  But when he approached Kikyou's furious gaze snapped back to him.

"And what about this, InuYasha?  What about the baby?"  She'd thrust her hand with the ring on it at him, asking what he meant in giving it to her if he had no intention of making good on the offer.

He ran a hand through the thick white hair both he and SesshouMaru had inherited from their father.  "I don't love you, Kikyou.  You know that and you know the only reason I proposed is because of the child.  But it's been two weeks since you said the doctor pronounced you and I still haven't smelt a change in your scent."

"I can explain that, InuYasha," she drew breath to do such when he interrupted.

"It doesn't matter.  I want Kagome, I have since the first time I met her, and even a bastard child isn't going to change that."

Kikyou scoffed and shook her head.  Looking away from him she stood there, frozen and furious.  He saw her resolve and began walking past her.  He'd take the stairs down to the executive floor.

Just as InuYasha opened the door into the stairwell, Kikyou turned.  "You're going to regret this, InuYasha," he turned to regard her and noticed she wasn't even looking at him; didn't appear to be at all concerned.  "Be warned."


End file.
